Doing the heart dissection was not nearly as bad as I thought it would be, and ended up extremely interesting and fun. Last year when we had a test or project of some sort the teachers would tell us to say “it was a fun and educational experience” when other students asked how it was. This was usually a lie, for tests were never really fun, but in this case it wouldn’t be a lie. Although the smell really got to me (I have a strong sense of smell) the overall impression of the dissection was very good. I think the fact that I knew what I was getting into helped me a lot in this project. Since you dissected the heart in front of us I was able to prepare myself for what I would experience. I did not expect what the inside of the heart would look like though and that came slightly as a shock. The muscle was so thick around the atrium and ventricle that it was hard to see, I expected more of a room like they show in all the diagrams. Cutting through all that muscle was the hardest part for me. I didn’t like the feeling of cutting through the heart. Also, because of the place where I was standing I couldn’t see where we needed to cut. Although being a surgeon would be an amazing job, I don’t think it is for me. I would rather study people from the outside than the inside. Even if I had proper training I don’t think that this job is what I would want to do. When I say this keep in mind that I thought I was going to be a surgeon in fifth grade.

During the dissection I finally figured out what the “coronary groove” is. I’ve always had a slight interest in the human body, after all I am one and I see them all day long. The fact that every animal has a beating heart and all those organs is amazing. I’ve always thought this, but doing the dissection made me believe this even more. I actually got to see an enlarged version of what is inside of me, and the people all around me. The only thing that could make this opportunity better was if the students knew exactly where they were supposed to cut so they wouldn’t get lost.